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SFPUC posts rules for Hunters Point electric service, plans construction power by Feb. 2010
Summary
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission posted proposed rules and regulations for retail electric service at Hunters Point and said it will provide construction power to Blocks 50 and 51 by February 2010, pending Lennar's schedule; the rules return to the commission for adoption Dec. 8.
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission posted proposed rules and regulations governing retail electric service for the Hunters Point Shipyard redevelopment and expects to provide construction power to the first blocks in February 2010, Assistant General Manager for Power Barbara Hale told the commission.
Hale said the commission had relied on model rules from other publicly owned utilities and had posted the proposed regulations on the SFPUC website as required, with formal consideration scheduled for the Dec. 8 commission meeting. "We are providing through this agenda item the required chartered notice of the fact that we will be coming to you on December 8 with those rules and regulations for adoption," Hale said.
The PUC described the near-term scope: construction power for Blocks 50 and 51 (25 townhomes and 63 stacked-flat condominiums) and a transition to retail service once dwellings are occupiable. Staff said the distribution system equipment (switchgear and transformers) for the Hilltop/Innis Avenue area is purchased and that smart meters and a smart-grid deployment are part of the plan. Hale said Blocks 50 and 51 "are scheduled to provide electric service by February of 2010," contingent on the developer's construction timetable.
Commissioners pressed staff on related issues the rules themselves do not fully govern: whether natural gas service will be provided, how PUC sustainability goals and the city's green-building standards will be enforced, and whether service agreements can include monitoring or enforcement language. Mike Martin, development project manager, said service agreements and development agreements are the more likely vehicle to bind performance, while the posted rules govern the customer–utility relationship (billing, service expectations, construction vs. permanent service).
Public commenters urged the PUC to pair electric service with the highest feasible renewable supply and to use its authority to protect workers and neighborhoods. Eric Brooks of the San Francisco Green Party urged the PUC to "provide for you the most renewable supply that we can provide" and asked the commission's environmental justice staff to monitor toxin meters near Lennar worksites.
The commission treated the posting as a notice of the proposed rules; adoption, rate structure and any related service-agreement language are set for a future meeting. The PUC will return Dec. 8 with the formal rule adoption item and related rate considerations.
